Running Around Mull

Running 133 miles around the coastline of Mull in 29 hours, over 3 days: I'm extremely relieved to be able to recount this, rather than my experience of what its like to run half or three quarters of the way around the island - which was a very real fear on the second night of my challenge.

James and I arrived on Mull on Wednesday night, leaving just a day to 'prepare' for the start of Run Around Mull on Friday at 7am: read more obsessive weather-checking, packing, panicking, re-packing and media stuff. I accepted the weather would be less than ideal - steady, heavy rain on days one and three, with showers on two. What would be would be.

DAY ONE: Ulva Ferry/Calgary/Dervaig/Glengorm/Tobermory/Salen/Craignure/Lochdon (55 miles)

Friday came and as with the morning of any major run, I awoke feeling fuelled with plentiful supplies of adrenalin. Being at 7am on the quiet Ulva Ferry road, and given the fact we were running slightly late, our start was rather underwhelming, but it was a lovely reassurance to have Julie, James, Don and Gregg there. Gregg would be running with me for as long as was comfortable for him, and we set off from outside home to the north west, heading for Calgary Bay. I had split the route into 10-12 mile sections, between which we would stop for a few minutes to meet Don and the rest of the crew, eat, drink and re-fill.

After half an hour the rain began, the kind of heavy drizzle which makes you feel as though you've been immersed in a tepid bath for an hour. I was so glad to have my Kamleika Lady waterproof, courtesy of Footworks Edinburgh and OMM, which kept my core warm and dry and my mind sane. I really felt for Gregg whose jacket was not so watertight, but true to his resilient form it didn't seem to bother him and we made it through to Calgary ahead of target time, in great spirits and ready for a bagel.

Don, James and Julie met us at the head of the beach, and we were also joined by Cally Fleming from the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, with her beautiful collies. After a quickie toilet stop, bagel and shot of chia seeds we set off again, kept company by Cally who jogged with us for a few minutes before we hit the hill out of Calgary to continue the B road round to Derviag via the Croig road turn. This stretch was fairly uneventful, bar the darkening skies and heavier rainfall we faced as we began to tackle the horseshoe bends and steep rises of the 7 mile Devraig-Tobermory road. We would only be running 3 or so miles of this road before taking a track another 4 miles out to Glengorm, with the intention of chasing the coastline.

We were joined on this stretch by local runners Alan Parker and Andy Murphy, who admirably were ready to take on the elements with us all the way to Glengorm, and perhaps Tobermory, depsite berating us for not choosing to run another earlier path to Glengorm, which had more tree cover and shelter. James also hopped on the mountain bike to watch out for us on this car-less stretch.

The first half of the path was rough and exposed leading us through farmland into forestry. I had a few slips on the muddy terrain and one into a stream crossing, wherein my feet were soaked. Always a demoraliser for me due to the worry of blisters, I tried to forget it and count down the minutes into the more sheltered forest. We made it to Glengorm in fairly decent time, due to stop for a few minutes to meet Don, but I forgoe this to crack on with the 3.5 miles to Tobermory and a quick lunch stop there. By our map calculations up until Tobermory was due to be 22 miles, but we later found out it was closer to 29 miles - note to self, do not use straightforward mapping software for an island route in the future - it does not incorporate undulations!

Gregg decided to call it time for the day in Tobermory, he'd run an incredible 29 miles with very few training miles in his legs, great work! I shelved plans for heading down the Main Street in favour of being able to leave the town by 1.15pm, so had a quick bowl of macaroni cheese, shot of chia and changed to dry shoes & socks which felt amazing. James joined me on the MTB as I set off for Salen - strangely although I was 29 miles down I was feeling great, and well-adapted to the rain. I was looking forward to this very measurable section of my route: 11 miles to Salen followed by 11 miles to Craignure, then I'd try for a few more miles before the end of the day before finishing before 7pm.

We walked the main hill out on the new road before following the parallel path for a couple of miles, and emerging back out onto the winding road. Again, I know this road so well that running it even when fatigued was reassuring, and I counted down the well-known landmarks - Arle Lodge, Aros, Richard Greaves' dilapidated boats - and chatted to James as we neared Salen. The next exciting thing would be meeting the ferry traffic - my brother and sister-in-law Richard and Kirsty were due to meet us off the 2pm ferry, as were friends Sally, Liz, Jodie and Shona. Perfectly on cue, the whole crew of ferry folk drove into the village as we made it into the Salen Hotel car park and we had a blissful 15 minutes of hellos and hugs punctuated by peanut butter sandwiches and refills. All too short and so off to Craignure, joined by the lovely supporter extraordinaire Julie.

Julie's plan was to run with me for 5 or so miles then jump in the car with James who'd taken over driving. 11 miles later and Julie is still with me as we run into Craignure, what an effort! It was brilliant to have her there, cheery and buoyant, watching out for oncoming traffic as we ran down the right hand side of the busy A road, hopping up to run along the verge when vehicles appeared - pretty painful with my tired quads! We counted down the landmarks with satisfaction - the rugby club, the Fishnish ferry turning, the golf club, the Isle of Mull Hotel - until at last we reached the 30 mph signs and the welcome whoops of Gregg and the rest of the team. By then I knew I had a blister, which I tentatively inspected, wondering if I should continue for the extra 4 miles I wanted to do or call it a night. Still making decent time, I decided after a quick bite to eat I'd keep running - if you could call it that by this point - until 6.30pm, giving excellent recovery time for the night.

We made around 3.5 miles in that time, to south of Lochdon, amid stunning evening rainbows and sunshine, but I was pretty tired, aching and entirely ready to stop. So much so that I found it hard to focus enough to look up at the beautiful hen harrier spotted by the guys, circling above the support cars as we stopped.

Back at Ulva Ferry, Richard and Kirsty had concocted an interesting re-fuelling feast involving pasta, veg and cumberland sausages, and we formed a slick routine of shower, eat, sort kit, massage and sleep.

DAY TWO: Lochdon/Lochbuie/Carsaig/Pennyghael/Bunessan/Fionnphort/Bunessan/Pennyghael (51 miles)
Don drove us to back to Lochdon for a 7.30am start - my body was complaining but I instinctively knew how much the evening's massage had helped rid my muscles of lactic acid for the second punishing day - it could have been a lot worse. I set out alone with my iPod and made it to the Lochbuie turning, where after a few miles a new car pulled up behind me and out jumped Nigel, a family friend from the Ross of Mull. It was lovely to jog with him for half a mile or so as we neared my parent's old mussel farm and smokery, and Don's old house - all depressingly dilapidated now. But the morning was calm and silent and it felt good to be running down this familiar, beautiful part of the coastline. A few miles later and I sensed another few folk running up behind me - this time my brilliant Dad and Step-Mum Hazel, who'd just come off the first ferry after a trip from Cheshire.

Seeing Dad and Hazel was a fantastic distraction so the next 6 or 7 miles to the end of the road at Lochbuie were a delight - and weather conditions were as peaceful as the still waters of Loch Uisk we were running past.

We stopped and met wonderful Don with his cups of tea and bagels at the road end in Lochbuie at the head of the 5 mile coastal path to Carsaig - one of the most challenging parts of my route, but one I knew would be so scenic I was looking forward to it. After a 10 minute stop, we waved Don goodbye as he headed back up the same road to take the main road south to Pennghael and Carsaig on the other side of the path. Both Dad and James ran with me along grassy trails, which merged into an increasingly boggy path, weaving in and out amongst a rocky shoreline at the foot of Carsaig's dramatic cliffs. To our right stood imposing basalt formations, caves and spectacular waterfalls, but looking up was not condusive to safe running - every step and foothold had to be carefully monitored.

It was a refreshing change from the tarmac of Mull, but after 3 or so miles I was ready for road again. I slipped countless times, tore my ankles on brambles and we encountered the distressing sight of a sheep stuck in a bog. Sadly, when the guys pulled it free was clearly unable to walk. Dad alerted two walkers heading the other direction toward the farm.

My morale was struggling by the time we reached the Carsaig road at around midday (later than anticipated), but we were met by Richard running towards us, then Kirsty and Don with video cameras and smiles. I didn't want to lose more time so headed straight for the endless hill road out of the bay - over 2 miles of steep hill. James heroicly walked with me despite earlier vowing he wouldn't be joining for this hill! After the beautiful conditions of the morning, the drizzle again began to pervade. Still - onwards to the next 'checkpoint', and by far the best!

The previous day Julie had met a lady named Jane in the Coffee Pot in Salen who'd urged us to stop by her house the next day, near the Pennyghael road end. Her charming small children ran out to meet me as I neared, and we were welcomed by her beautifully baked cupcakes, brownies and mugs of steaming tea. Thank you so much Jane, it was an incredible boost - and the delicious cakes kept me and many friends and family going!

From the left turn off the Carsaig road, the rest of the route for the day would be out and back - an approx 28 mile round trip from Pennyghael to Fionnphort and back again. It began to feel tough as the rain closed back in around me and I was alone for the first time in a while. Dad jumped out soon after and joined me for another couple of brave miles - for the man who'd only run a maximum of 2 miles recently he had run over 11 today!

After Dad, Liz hopped out Julie's car and ran with me right up until Fionnphort, far further than she'd planned. She did a fantastic job of taking my mind off the many miles to go, as by this point I was struggling and not in the best of spirits. The 9 miles to the next stop in Bunessan seemed to take forever. As Richard and co asked me what I needed as I walked in, I couldn't think what to answer, I had no idea what to do with myself once I stopped running. So the only answer was to try eat and drink. We stopped only for a few minutes before heading up yet another hill on the 5 mile stretch to Fionnphort, a section which was regularly interpersed with cattle, sheep on the road and unknown people who bizarrely kept stopping ahead to take photos of us. A tourist attraction - Liz and I had made it!

At the turnaround point in Fionnphort, Liz - after having run an amazing 13 miles with me - swapped with Sally, who I hadn't had a chance to chat to properly yet. Unfortunately my conversation skills weren't up to much but it was brilliant to have Sal there and James on the bike again with us. Just listening to them exchanging inane chat and leftfield Dragon's Den ideas was comforting. The deterioration in weather matched my failing morale as we reached a grey, drenched Bunessan for the second time that day. My shins were painful, everything else ached and I wasn't sure I'd make it the 9 hilly miles back up to Pennyghael. Sally and James persevered with me. The miles were slow but Julie brightened up a dark few hours by crawling ahead of us in her car, windows down and Frankie Goes to Hollywood blasting the evening air and waking up the Ross of Mull.

En route to Pennyghael I started feeling pressured by time and by the pains building in my shins and right calf, which I hadn't experienced in any ultra before. With every step, the tendons running down the front to my ankle strained, feeling like taught elastic bands charged with painful volts of electricity. I had to stop twice on hills as I couldn't catch my breath in a mild panic attack. I was scared to stop running as I knew my body would struggle to cope with what I'd been done to it for the last 11 hours.

We reached the Carsaig turning and the finish for day two at 8.10pm, encouraged and cheered by Gregg, Julie et al. I found it difficult to utter any words and fell into a sorry heap in Don's car. The journey home was genuinely more uncomfortable than the last few miles of running - I couldn't get settled in any position and my calf muscles, shins and feet were all on fire, and my stomach fragile. I couldn't strong a sentence together and just wanted someone to pick me out of the car and put me into bed. Neither could I bear the thought of eating. I've been lucky enough to never experience severe stomach problems in ultras but despite Rich and Kirsty's comfort food feast I only managed a paltry half baked potato and beans before another agonising massage and collapse into bed. I fell into a deep sleep, convinced I wouldn't be able to walk the final day, let alone run.

DAY THREE: Pennyghael/Gribun Road/Glen Seilisdeir/Killechronan/Ulva Ferry (28 miles)
Awaking at 5.45am I was relieved to at least be able to think clearly and logically again. I gingerly got out of bed and hobbled to the kicthen to prep food and kit, heeding a gentle reminder from Don that I shouldn't run if I was going to do damage to myself. I was sore but the night's sleep had made a world of difference. My cousins James and Pete were coming up from Bucks to join me for the full final day, and spirits lifted as they arrived and we set off.

We assembled at our modest start line in a Pennyghael parking place, under leaden clouds and gentle drizzle. James made me giggle with his energy gel on the startline tactics. At the urges of friends and Don/Dad I'd decided - given the horrendous forecast of wind, rain and low cloud for the entire day - to cut Ben More from the plan. I didn't want to risk finishing the core coastal route around Mull, or extending to 4 days. It was a good decision and realistic amendment to the venture!

So I re-discovered my running legs and found I could manage between 4 and 5 mph. Definitely slower than my strong road running and rowing cousins but good enough to complete the 28 miles in a reasonable time if I could sustain it and fend off injury. After running without a Garmin for 2 days it was bliss to have regular updates from James and his 305. As we neared the lingering slopes of Glen Seilisdeir, a few more cars caught up and out jumped Hazel, Dad then Gregg and Liz. It was a fantastic lift to be able to run with them and my optimism returned in full force from then on, despite being faced with a tunnel of wind howling between the gribun hills. We had our usual 10 mile for 10 minute stop, which was enlivened by Jane's gorgeous brownies. Time and miles were edging away from us and I began to find it easier to keep jogging than stopping or walking at all - change was not my friend.

To my surprise, as we neared the end of the Gribun road for the junction of the 7 mile road to Ulva Ferry and 3 mile road to Salen, out jumped Richard, promising to run with us for the entire 10 mile home stretch. We now had a group of 6 and I felt like a female Forrest Gump in a very special situation.

I knew from the 7 mile road turning to Ulva I was in safe hands and would make it, even if I had to walk. I know this road so well and have done many a training run out and back. By this point James' knee was suffering and everyone else around me was soaked. My James valiantly rode out on the road bike to meet us with 4 miles to go. We all agreed a sprint finish was in order.

Our 'sprint' went largely unrecognised as it was probably the equivalent of 6 mph, but seeing home and everyone huddled around the finish 'line' was an absolute delight, if a little surreal. And sitting inside in the warmth with champagne and cupcakes didn't make the last three days sink in any further. I remained in a dazed state for some time!

AFTERWARDS: LESSONS LEARNED

This run certainly pushed me to a limit - on day two - which I don't think I've reached before, mentally and physically. But I've learnt the incredible value of massage and sleep, and most of all the importance of friends, family, encouragement and self-belief. Its inevitable after a tough physical exersion to forget the pain, but after this I instinctively feel that every time I can propel myself through a seriously tough run/race situation by whatever means - kit, nutrition, walking breaks, mind games - the next hardship I face will seem more physically bearable purely because I know its possible. Its been bloody good training for the West Highland Way Race in June!

I can really identify with the old saying 'Pain is a luxury for the living' (courtesy of Fiona Rennie, West Highland Way Race Inspiration Evening). Experiencing something difficult and challenging can make you feel at your most alive in ways you didn't think possible, and bring the rest of life into sharp focus.

Apart from part of my right foot still being numb to touch (physio believes this is trapped skin nerves due to muscle swelling during days 2 and 3) I feel stronger than ever and absolutely pain and ache-free, which I didn't expect at all. Its a great feeling knowing my experimentations with footwear, blister prevention and re-fuelling seem to have mostly worked in this instance.

A THOUSAND THANK YOU'S....
I couldn't have run around Mull without the selfless support of my family and friends: including Don, my amazing step dad who trailed me in support vehicle for over 29 hours over the weekend, stopping to make tea, take donations and fend off traffic. As well as my Dad and step mum, who joined for days two and three, running with me for far longer than they've run in any recent years! And of course Julie, Gregg, James, Richard, Kirsty, Sally, Liz, Shona, Jodie and my two cousins James and Peter - who ran with me, cycled with me, supported with more vehicles, blasted out Barry White's words of encouragement through the dark times, massaged painful muscles, cooked dinners and baked the most delicious cake!

My sponsorship from Edinburgh's Footworks - who are also barefoot running specialists - and OMM, with my running waterproof, was truly a game saver. Without this high quality waterproof kit I really don't think I would've kept the important parts dry and sane enough to continue.

As for all those generous people out there who have donated or helped me promote, you've made it all worthwhile and helped raise over £3,400 for HWDT and RSPB Scotland, to protect Scotland's special wildlife - thank you.

For anyone who can still donate, my donation page remains open for a wee while, through www.runaroundmull.co.uk!

This run was for Alice Lambert, who was with us all the way in memory.

The Final Hour...

In just three days Run Around Mull will be upon us!Amid the final throes of manic preparation and obsessive weather checks (they are ALL different - which do I believe?) I thought I'd outline my last minute plans and hopes for the run, to give me something to reflect on post-event.

Preparation
Despite getting my mojo back in the training and back-to-back run department in Feb and March, things haven't gone exactly to plan during the last few weeks - I've been on antibiotics for a kidney infection which has stopped me training for the last week. Fortunately it was already taper time, but I did want to keep in with some light training sessions beforehand, so I'm thinking of an easy 5km run tomorrow evening after James and I arrive on Mull. Over these next few days on Mull I also hope to focus on getting my fuelling bang on, going for some gentle walks and getting heaps of sleep!

So back to the forecast - earlier today it was looking less than ideal but all the forecasts seem to have updated this evening, and I'm choosing to go with Metcheck and its hopeful spring sunshine. In any case I've never had any illusions the weather will be perfect - it's Mull! Plus the amazing Footworks has provided me with a beautiful piece of waterproof kit I most definitely want to wear at some point.

Daily Mileage Plans
I originally planned and hand-measured the route using old OS maps - with all sections totallying 127 miles. But now my clever friend Liz the geography whizz has mapped it with her software and it is 130 miles! See the new route maps here.

So the sections I'd planned earlier now work out as 43 miles on day one, 54 on day two and 33 on day three. My intention is still to aim for 50 miles on days one and two, so the start and finish points will be flexible. I aim to be ready to run at 7am each day and finish by 7pm at the latest - splitting each day up into 10 mile sections, taking up to 2 hours for each with walking and fuel breaks in between. This too is flexible, and I'll do whatever I can to complete as close to the intended distance each day (bar jumping in the support vehicle!). My two cousins are coming up from Bucks to run with me for the full final day - a fantastic motivation to complete the prior mileage to plan. They may well kill me otherwise!

Fuelling
My nutrition and hydration plan is the same as for other ultras, and the West Highland Way race in June - to keep eating 'normal' savoury meals/food for as long as I can, such as pasta & pesto, peanut butter & jam sandwiches etc, supplemented by chia seeds, electrolytes, flapjacks and fruit. When I absolutely need to I'll swap to the gels and the like. We shall see how this goes - I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible.

Diversionary Tactics & Updates
I'll be on the road all day for 3 days so it'll be good to have a few extras to think about - I've decided to take a loan of James' voice recorder to record the speciifc thoughts and experiences I'm having, as well as the wildlife and sights we see around the coastline - many parts of which I haven't been back to since I was a child. I have a truly awful memory and hopefully these notes will be interesting to reflect back on and write about.

I've also been asked to review some products by Belkin, who produce running accessories such as armbands - so podcasts and music will be a must for a while. Both myself and support team plan to tweet/FB throughout the weekend to keep folk up to date with happenings around the coastline and how it's going - and I'll have my phone on me throughout so any messages will be received!

And when it's all over...
Will I still be able to stand up? It will be interesting to see how a 3 day run affects me, and if my feet survive better this year than they did last summer running in California, after all of the trainer-testing and preventionary measures I've taken since. One thing I know is that we'll be celebrating the end of James and I's 40 alcohol free days with a champagne or two!

On a final note, thank you so much to all my friends, family, friends of friends and absolute strangers who have donated to and supported the run so far, and huge thanks to my supporter friends and family in advance for giving up their Easter weekend to join me on this madcap trip! What on earth am I going to do with myself after?!

Distance and the Dayjob

I love my job in Development at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, but working a full-time-and-the-rest day job leaves me constantly wishing for more hours in the day for training and recovery, not to mention sleep. I've been building up for the biggies, Run Around Mull in April and the West Highland Way Race in June, so this has become much more of a focus over the last month or so. I was thinking about it on a recent long run, and realised the number of little strategies I've come up with to fit training in around work and life in general. Far from a perfect scenario, and I will always need more sleep, but here are a few of the ways I've been sneakily squeezing in distance training around the day job:

- Planning Ahead: I nearly always have a running kit with me, wherever I go. It means I can go to family/social events on a weekend or week night and run home (generally less anti-social than running there although that's been done on occasion too!) It also means that when I need to be away with work as with last week in London, I can squeeze an hour's morning or evening run into the schedule. Though I'm sorry, Clapham Common is no Pentlands!

- Walking Everywhere: Even walking is time on feet therefore good for ultra training, so I'm trying to consistently walk to and from work, and from work to gym on core taining days, then home, around 6 miles in total. I'm selling my car to remove temptation!

- Long Runs: I've been fitting my long back-to-back runs - which aim to adapt my body to running on tired legs - in on Friday night and Saturday morning, which leaves the rest of the weekend to act like a normal, slightly fatigued, person. I've surprised myself by really enjoying my Friday night runs. There's something immensely satisfying about running past pubs spilling smokers and drunk folk out the doors, and without fail I feel more energised and inspired for a constructive weekend afterwards at 10/11pm than I did at 5pm leaving work.

- Quality Training: Recently I was really snowed under at work with a major funding bid demanding much attention and late nights, which prevented me getting out after work for a week or so. It made me realise the importance of short, sharp speed sessions as well as steady long runs. They help push your body more in a limited space of time which can have dramatically positive effects on performance in a race, on speed and endurance. Although tough at the time, I find these sessions massively exhilarating and great for refreshing and varying a stale training programme.

- Eating: I've also changed the structure of my eating as I'm so regularly leaving straight from work to train. Instead of one decent evening meal I'll have 2 smaller meals incl one before leaving work - this helps keep hunger levels at bay and keep me sustained until later at night when I'm home.

- Early Starts: I've never been the biggest fan of weekday morning runs, but I do them when I have to, if there isn't time after work. A 40 minute sprint around arthur's seat then jog to work can squeeze in nicely around the rest of a really busy day.

- Flexible Working: I am fortunate that I can work from home when I need to - it fits well with my fundraising job as peace & quiet is sometimes essential for writing. This means I can start early, finish prompt and fit a long run in the hills in on a winter/spring evening.

I only have one more week of peak training before the taper for Run Around Mull, which kicks off in 15 - yes 15 - days! If you're reading this and know nothing about it - check www.runaroundmull.co.uk. Please pass on to anyone with a pocket full of change to donate to a very good cause.

On that note, I'm off for more time on these feet...

Happy training!

Training in 2012: A Stormy Start

Mid-January emerged, signalling time for the first en masse West Highland Way training weekend, and the need for me to end my season of comfort. I didn't stop training over the festivities - running on Christmas day and throughout - but I did get very adept at sticking to slow and easy pace and flat routes, and carrying seamlessly on with the festivities post-run.

I'm glad I didn't check the forecast before the Friday night as wouldn't have been particularly encouraged by it. Gregg and I arrived in Balmaha - a wee town at the foot of Conic Hill on the West Highland Way, and 30 miles from Glasgow - amid torrents of rain. Fortunately the cosy log fire in Oak Tree Inn lulled us into a sense of security until later that night...when I was woken multiple times by the driving rain and howling gale force winds.

Morning came and the storm persisted. I was unsure if the WHW guys would want to go ahead (what was I thinking? They run 95 hilly miles in all conditions, in typically 24 hours or less. They love it). I had also decided to join Karl Zeiner for an 8 mile run prior to the 30 mile training run, to celebrate his 38th birthday, so we were due to run a 4 out 4 back route and meet the others in time for the 10am start of the 30 miler.

I thought this would push my limits in order to get the ultra training proper underway for the year. It was hardly raining when we left but the wind was relentless - I heard 60 mph gusts mentioned later on - and the trail was super muddy, causing me to manhandle a barbed wire fence in mile 2 to stop myself falling and gashing the palm of my hand in the process, thankfully not deeply. On the way back to the Inn the heavens opened and it was wild. Loch Lomond looked like the North Sea - the conditions were actually beautiful in an extreme, elemental kind of way. Although I could only see through my soaked, matted hair, which was whipping me in the face in the absence of the hat I'd forgotten.

After picking Gregg up back at the Inn and a 2 minute stop to grab supplies, we set out at the back of the WHW runner pack, having missed the briefing and most of the plans. Again, the weather calmed and the first 5 or 6 miles were enjoyable. By mile 10 (mile 18 in total for me) I started to feel a bit spent, just as we hit the gradual, relentless hill out from Rowardennan. I remembered clearly the length of this incline from the Highland Fling race last May, which comes around 29 miles into the race, and recalling how difficult I found the race last year didn't fill me with confident energy on this run.

So G and I reached consensus to give it a few more miles and turn round to head back to camp (repeating the logfire mantra), meaning the run (for me) would be in total 30 miles, and 22 for G who'd trained much less than me throughout winter and was trying to ease his distance in in prep for Run Around Mull in April.

A brief walking break and a Stoats wonder bar set us up for the road home, which was, well, wild. The wind whistled towards us this time, and was decidedly chilling, even when sustaining 8.5 min miles. We passed a figure walking briskly into the wind, hunched over his walking poles. Up ahead we were asked by a guy standing next to his camper if we'd seen a walker on the trail behind, and it transpired he was the support vehicle for this guy walking John O' Groats to Lands End. This guy was stoicly walking all day straight through the storm. I felt grateful to be running rather than walking, getting the task done with quicker - though I'll need to get used to slower paced runs/walking for The Big One in June. After all my mate Andy Cole - who attempted it last year - advised I should see it as a run only to Bridge of Orchy. Technically if you make it in a reasonable time you can briskly walk the rest from there. Although I don't want to have to do this, its a comforting thought.

Back at the Oak Tree, the roaring fire, hot grub and Irish coffees sorted us out, but the caffeine did nothing to stop me dreaming of bed by 10pm. I'm working on the distance training but seriously need to work on the distance with sleep deprivation thing...

I'd wanted to get my legs used to running tired, so on Sunday we headed our for another 7 miles, northwards again along the now-beaten path. G regretted the preparatory fry up but the weather was a lot clearer, and I felt decidely better than I had done the previous afternoon.

Though the wind was still fierce and the trail made for a sticky mudbath, sun beams reflected off the loch, soaking up the biting chill of the previous day and illuminating the hills behind. Today I was really enjoying the soft trails underfoot as a change from Edinburgh roads.

Wrapping up the weekend, I still felt frustrated to find day one so tough, but why would it be easy in mid-January amid gale force winds? Is it ever going to be easy? I think the challenge and excitement of taking on a run like the WHW is deeply engrained in its grade of raw difficulty, and that's what I need to remember - and welcome - when it comes to training and racing on the trail.

All in all, it really started tuning my mind to what needs to be done before June, specifically on West Highland type terrain. And the new experiment with Brooks Cascadia trail shoes proved successful, for that run anyway. Not a blister in sight...

Thanks to WHW Race Director Ian Beattie for organising (and enthusing) us all.

West Highland Way Race?

I went for a 'recovery jog' up around arthur's seat this week. Since California I've developed even more of a hatred of mind-numbingly monotonous treadmill running and have missed being out in the elements. I never thought I'd start to enjoy runnning in harsh conditions such as the heat we dealt with through Napa, or the Scottish wind and driving rain, but those are the things I've begun to enjoy most. A far cry from the days when I refused to go out in a slight breeze or took shelter from hailstones under a Mull bridge (although they were pretty painful).

I've been thinking recently that if I can master getting enjoyment from running in all elements, have a firmer grasp on the kit that works for me, and now have more experience at pacing myself through the variety of ultras I've done this year maybe an attempt at the full West Highland Way race next June would be a natural progression. Although not a particularly natural thing to do to your body. For those that don't know the Race folows the 95-mile West Highland Way from Milngavie in the north of Glasgow up through Tyndrum then Glencoe to reach Fort William, with 14,760ft of ascent. There is a 35 hour time limit, and many runners hope to finish in under 24 hours. The male course record (Jezz Bragg) is 15hrs 44 and the female is held by Lucy Colquhoun at 17hrs 16. There have only ever been 5 women who've finished in less than 20 hours, since the year the race started in 1986. It requires motorised backup and a support team of at least 2 people. I've never thought I'd want to attempt this, especially not after the damage I did to my feet last Highland Fling, but I think the raw challenge of it has been slowly seeping into my consciousness, finally becoming an active consideration this month when I found out entries are taken from 1st November.

If any of you lovely lovely friends are free the weekend of 23 June next year and would be up for a different kind of weekend supporting me for a day or so up the WHW do let me know! This is if I am given an entry - with only 200 places, the race is growing in popularity every year and entrants must pass a strict entry criteria: Automatic places will be granted to the following:
• Entrants who have completed 5 or more previous WHW races
• All previous winners of the race, male and female
• Any entrant who, in the opinion of the race committee, has made or is expected to make a significant contribution to the race's overall success

All entries will then be reviewed by the race committee, with the race committee placing each entrant into 1 of 3 categories:-
1. Those who they consider have sufficient experience to take part in the race (fully qualified)
2. Those required to provide further evidence to the committee that they have or will have sufficient experience (provisionally qualified)
3. Those who do not have sufficient experience (rejected)
The decision of the committee is final.

On the theme of amazing friends, thanks to all of my lovely Edinburgh people - firstly for the surprise gathering organised on my return from California and secondly for feeding me delicious meals for what seems like all of this week! Particularly dangerous whilst taking a break from intensive training but incredible nonetheless. Dont think I need to eat for a week now :-)

So anyway I would love to hear anyone's advice on taking on the WHW Race next year.

And as Ric Elias says, don't postpone anything in life:
http://www.ted.com/talks/ric_elias.html

SUMS Done, Ultra Exhausted...

Actually 10 days after the event I've bounced back and ready to rock again but I certainly was in a destroyed state after this final race effort - the River Ayr Way ultra on 24th September.

The last race in the Scottish Ultra Marathon Series (SUMS), RAW is a 44 mile walking route from source (the loch in the tiny village of Glenbuck) to sea in Ayr. New to me, this one has been going for a few years now and this year the distance was reduced to under 41 for a stadium finish in Dam Park.

It never seemed a bright idea to do this race. I'd already run my required 4 out of the 9 SUMS and would be fresh back from 200 miles in the US. But as usual I changed my mind and thought it might be a nice way to finish the season and secure my third overall place in the Series, plus I wanted to see how I felt after TransCon. I could have either been in my best form due to the number of miles and elevation run recently, or worst due to recovery. I'd arrived back to the UK the weekend before and developed a very strange sickness lurgy that I think might've been jetlag - so left the decision up to the last minute.

Promising myself I'd stop the race if I really needed to I set off from Edinburgh to Ayr at the ungodly hour of 5.30am to get to Ayr. A bus deposited us at Glenbuck late for the start so there was just time to sprint to the woods for toilet breaks with 20 others (stopped caring by now)before a few words of briefing. I set off laughing after a start consisting of the marshall shouting 'GO' - reminding me of the 10 mile race Gregg and I ran in Ballater with a similar low key beginning.

Karl Zeiner was running and I knew I'd likely be able to keep him in my sights for 5 or 10 miles or so. Was glad to keep him amused with the cobbled-together race plan I decided on 20 mins before start - 8min miles for 20 then 9 min miles for 20. In reality I just wanted to finish as my body was physically fairly exhausted, more with recent lack of sleep than anything else.

Pace was fine if a little fast over the first 5 miles (did not stick to that 8 min mile thing!) but conditions surprisingly tough. I knew there wasn't much elevation in the route and in fact that we dropped 200metres from Glenbuck to sea level at Ayr - but sadly we were into the wind the whole route. Plus rainfall had apparently been high over the few weeks previous, transforming the race literally into a bogtrot in parts. I think from mile 4 I had wet feet which has shown to be a disaster for me in terms of blister issues. Quickly got used to this though, as well as having to run through patches of nettles encroaching the path - they were everywhere - my vest and capris not appropriate! My running style evolved into some kind of dancing trot as I held my arms above my head to avoid stings and skipped around the bogs, before manning up and just running gritted teeth through it all at full throttle.

Scenery was beautiful at times, with the fast-flowing river, overgrown path and neighbouring woodlands. I kept checking the direction of the river just to check it was flowing in the right direction - yes, I could make that mistake!

From mile 12 I was in discomfort and felt significant lack of power in my muscles, any slight incline was a struggle and my old glute injury was niggling. Very close to throwing the towel in from mile 23, once again this season I was saved by the Mars bar and lovely marshalls at the 27 mile checkpoint.

A few of the race signs had blown down here and there but fortunately I always found myself back on track on the river, though later found my Australian friend Peter - whom I've bumped into during the last three ultras - wasn't so lucky. The nagivational lanyards we'd been given - a first for me in a race - were fantastic to have on hand as reference.

Marshalls kept encouraging me that I was in first female position which spurred me to finish, I'm not sure I would have done otherwise despite having a much stronger second half of race than the first 20 miles. I ran into Dam Head at 6 hours 27 mins, most probably a sight to behold covered in mud and nettlestings.

Karl had finished earlier having run an incredible race in 6.12. Second and third women were Justine Eveleigh at 6.41 and Elaine Calder with 6.54. First overall, as last year, was Grant Jeans with 5.24.

(FYI Karl your running/walking race plan is a clear winner - it worked beautifully - may I adopt it?!)

After seriously long showers we met up with the lovely Sally who'd come from Edinburgh as my prizegiving plus one, before heading over the road for a pint, a pizza and ceremony. Weird to see people you've seen all year in race gear dressed normally!

Here are the final SUMS results for men and women. Brilliantly well done to all who ran especially Frank Skachill who attempted and finished ALL 9 ultra marathons, including the full West Highland Way Race (winning him a unique prize at the prizegiving)! I hope he is having a thorough rest now. Not to mention a visually-impaired woman who ran RAW with a guide, achieving a strong finish. Proof that anyone can take on these challenges with the right prep. And sometimes without!
http://www.sumschampionship.org/

A Californian Running Experiment

Standing on the steps of San Francisco City Hall jet-lagged after 3 hours sleep and fuelled by coffee was not the start situation I had expected for the Transcontinental Challenge but the weeks, days and hours leading up were so eventful that a decent nights sleep had become a luxury.

I was joining my Glasgow friend Don Lennox as he embarked upon a run across the United States from San Francisco to New York, a distance of 3,063 miles. He is the first Scottish man to attempt this, and hoped to exceed the current world record of 46 days. I'd helped Don plan and gain sponsorship for the run during the last three months and the idea to try and keep up with him for five days happened naturally.

Events leading up to day one on Saturday 3rd September were rather hectic. In typical bus-like fashion sponsorship was seemingly impossible to secure right up until the last two weeks, when we succeeded in gaining several sponsors. On arrival into San Francisco there was immediately an intense time pressure to finalise a list of complex things, from route-planning to sourcing appropriate communications, smart phone, GPS etc. Worryingly the much-needed solar charging panels for the communications had not been ordered correctly and so were not to arrive prior to running. We also met with the US sponsor and the film crew/support team he was awarding to the project, who were keen to film Don in his kilt in a variety of hotspots around the city.

Don is a natural behind the camera whereas I just learnt a lot: I don't like talking to a camera and not being able to look at the person behind it. I'm not much better at looking at someone talking into the camera and keeping a straight face. Filming requires much hanging around. San Francisco is cold!

So we packed the necessary into the support vehicle, and made it to City Hall. One of our film crew John was on his bike in order to lead us out of the city - a route we had been warned as tough to navigate.

It was almost anti-climatic after the months of planning and thinking about the first few days of this run. Conditions were decent for running although not so much for visibility crossing the iconic Golden Gate bridge - foggy and chilly. Having crossed the bridge at around 7 miles we stopped briefly for a water re-fill and when I came back from the fountain Don had managed to meet a man who was cycling across all 50 states during 2011. We ran alongside his bike for a bit and learned California was his second-last state before heading to Hawaii (see his vid below).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvqkRVhCdCc&feature=related

We ran for 30 miles on 101 to reach San Rafael then Novato, stopping en route at a taqueria before continuing for another 22. It would have been much easier for us to cross east out of the city over the Bay bridge rather than the Golden Gate but pedestrians are not permitted to use this bridge. Instead we had to take a detour up around San Pablo bay and towards Vallejo.

The pressure in these first days to run 68 miles was intense. Partly due to the plans Don had emphasised about the world record, and partly now because we had a sponsor on board who was intent on this being achieved. We might have stood a good chance of making this mileage but route preparation left something to be desired, and our directions led us to some strange turns that first day. These included a left which should have been a right and a dead end down a housing estate (luckily on this occasion we met a dog-walker who threw on his running shoes to run us a few miles across some fields to the correct highway. Where did the road go?!). Looking back I'm convinced we ran far more than the 52 clocked miles on day one, considering we were on our feet from 9am until past midnight with only several stops.

Lasting memories from the day which I am letting overide the starting stresses: the stunning Sausalito with its artsy bayfront villas, in which I am assured space and property are at one of the highest premiums in California. Testament again to my expensive taste. The fact that sunsets viewed even from the Highway are spectacular in California. The discovery of fig rolls as running fuel. That even after a handful of confusing directions and several dead ends courtesy of Google walking routes we still managed to laugh hysterically whilst running down the hard shoulder of the highway at midnight. Admittedly it was a fine line with delerium. Just a short while after Don and I reckoned on how likely it was that we would get stopped by a patrol car at some point during the run, what should pull up but a police car. Stopping ahead of us to shine lights in our faces and check us out, the policeman listened to what we were doing as if it were the most normal of things, thankfully assuring us that we were legal, though running down the same highway or interstate back south was not. We continued for an hour or two more before stopping for the night, chalking the road so we'd know where to pick up the next day. Being a few miles off target and the campsite we'd planned to get to for the night, plus the fact it was Labor Day weekend, accommodation options were limited. However having met back with film guys John and Rob, John demonstrated his master charm at convincing an unsuspecting man leaving a wedding dance on the streets of Sonoma to let us stay on his guest house floor for the night. Ten minutes later and we were there, sleeping bags on the floor and alarms set for dawn.

DAY TWO
A day of highs, lows, snakes and stripy sunburn, which looking back seemed like 3 days rolled into one. Testament to how much can be squeezed into 24 hours if necessary...

John drove us back to the chalk-line on the Napa highway, instructing us to stay on the same highway for 30 miles and head straight over to Vallejo instead of going through Napa (what the original directions instructed us to do). A couple of hours in and several dead snakes later I instead caught sight of a rather alive snake, by which time I was almost treading on it (I may have made a bit of noise according to Don). Luckily I'd hopped over the top of it, though to me it looked harmless. We investigated and photographed, reckoning it couldn't be a rattlesnake without a rattle. Later John and Rob had a look at the photos, exclaiming that it was very definitely a rattler baby. Although they don't have rattles at that age they are dangerous from birth and frequently defensive (apparently coiling as per photo), biting often when disturbed. They can inject 2.5 x the venom of an adult as can't yet control it. Certainly a beautiful little specimen though.

The rest of the morning went well but around the 25 mile point and a confusing junction that old navigational sinking feeling struck us that we were in fact running through wine country. John told us the highway we thought we'd kept on had in fact merged into 121 and we'd missed the signs to stay on 37 to Vallejo miles and miles ago. I'm sure Californian signs are only visible to Americans! Add to that a searing midday heat and the fact the GPS kept sucking the life out of the smartphone battery, and the tensions of the day were rising.

To take our minds off the frustration we began an ongoing tally of the gruesomely diverse array of road kill we'd seen in just two days - Don's grim version of the generation game. This included countless racoons, a skunk, grass snakes, many deer, various birds, a puppy.

It was a baking dry heat leaving Napa and worryingly towards the late afternoon Don was feeling the effects of what we thought was the beginnings of deydration. The gradual but relentless incline leaving wine country didn't help. We made it to the (correct!) junction outside of Napa to get onto highway 12. A couple of miles down and Don wasn't faring well at all so we met the support guys and rested on the banks of the highway for a while. Here we were blessed with yet another spectacular Californian sunset - the most beautiful light I've seen in a long time. What better backdrop for Don to be sick and for me to mourn the loss of yet more toenails, all filmed by our boys.

Don called it a day (night) at this point as carrying on in that state would have been most probably counter productive for the next few days. We headed in the car back into Napa town to try find a motel, after many attempts at negotiating free rooms we settled for a discounted rate and pizza in bed.

DAY THREE
I can only have had another 4 hours sleep before we were up early to drive back to where we'd stopped the night before, but our grand plans were hampered by Don having realised smartphone was missing. With it safely found, we got underway onto highway 12 east which led to Rio Vista, our planned destination of the previous day 40 odd miles away. A mere 2 or 3 hours down the road and my feet were absolute agony, I could feel the taping was doing more harm than good. I tried to grin and bear it but pretty soon I didn't want to talk to anyone and was close to tears so decided to let Don continue on his own for a few hours and I'd keep John company. Rob meanwhile put in an impressive effort and ran for the whole morning with Don.

These two guys are amazing. Young talented film makers living in San Francisco - but John from Colorado and Rob from New York - they entertained us constantly with stories of their lives; documentaries they are making, circus skills they can teach and how they'd both been through pretty horrific accidents recently (Rob having fallen out a second storey window and broken his back). Their immediate warmth, positivity and charm to us and everyone we met made up ten-fold for their interesting car-packing skill:

With the happenings of the last few days the record was looking increasingly unlikely but Don made around 40 miles that day, making it to Rio Vista. Much of this was down long, flat highways with absolutely no protection from the elements - save another break to shelter and rest under some ancient farm machinery on the side of the highway, prompting another police stop. Then much later that evening there came twists and turns which made for sad times for all of us, with John and Rob having to leave the project after three days of filming, signalling the end of a sponsorship which we realised had never been a good fit for Don or the run. Every one of us was entered into an unexpected situation and I chose at that point to head back to San Francisco. Having originally planned to undertake the whole expedition completely unsupported, Don continued with his backback, after spending the night in Rio Vista.

After time in San Francisco - a relaxing mini-break for my feet - I retuned several days later, courtesy of my most lovely friend Lisa from Sacramento.

DAY FOUR
Well technically no longer day four, but Don's day seven. Transported by Lisa to the bustling metropolis of Jackson, just 70 odd miles from the Nevada border, I re-joined Don for a few days. My feet were so thankful of the break I'd given them and were magically healed enough to run on. However Don's feet were now in a mess, a side effect of running with the 60lb backpack for the first time since John and Rob had left. The weight had meant terrible impact on his feet with an impressive selection of blisters to rival my own. We didn't run that day and treated them as best we could to give them a decent chance of being ok to tape up to run tomorrow.

Don had also had some fantastic support since the town of Lodi several days before from a friend of a friend Richard, who had magically produced a jogging stroller for Don to push his backback in, and avoid more damage. An interesting sight but surprisingly efficient!

DAY FIVE
With the new addition to the team of Dan from Reno and his Lexus, we didn't need to test the stroller just yet. We taped feet and set off for Pine Grove 10 miles away, another tiny town further up Highway 88. A wholly different experience from the suburbs of San Francisco, we were edging into remoter territory, with obscure town names to match - Pioneer, Ham Station and Tragedy Springs. A good preparation for Don for Nevada, which has a tiny population by US standards and plenty of lonely desert highway.

Dan was a perfect support, driving ahead 5 or so miles, running back to meet us for a few miles, picking up the car and continuing, always making sure we were on the right path. We ran 30 miles, taking in a couple of thousand feet of ascent. To the Nevada border over the next 48 hours there would be over 7,000 ft of ascent, of which we did not know how sudden the climbs would be, or the likelihood of altitude affecting us.

I can honestly say the surroundings up there more than compensate for any element of physical challenge, and I would have run for 12 hours a day through it. The smell of pine up there is almost overpowering and the landscape spectacular - canyons, mountains, forests, birds of prey, marmots, threatening storm clouds.

DAY SIX
After a decent sleep in a Pioneer motel we were to hit the real ascent today deep into the Sierra Nevada's. After what seemed like just an hour running we passed the 6,000ft signage, and then not long after the 7,000 ft one. I'm not sure I felt real effects of the altitude and they say only 20% of people feel effects at 8,000ft, but it was hard to tell with the climbs being tough anyway. They were actually quite gradual but just never ended, and we had to take many walking breaks. We were nearly at the planned 20 miles stop when Don began to suffer quite suddenly with leg pain which he realised was a tendonitis injury. We tried brisk walking but the hills were too much for that type of strain so we gave it a rest and he decided to stay off the running for the afternoon. I knew I'd have to stop running tonight and head back to Lisa's anyway, otherwise we'd get too far away for me to actually get back to her place in Sacramento. Having checked out everything from the almost non-existent public transport to complex car hire we had concluded that the only option in remote Sierra Nevada country was for Lisa to pick me up. I decided to end my part in the run with a solitary run back down - so asked Don and Dan to come pick me up later, turned around and headed off 10 miles back down the mountains.

Thanks so much to you Lisa for giving up many hours and driving into the mountains two nights running straight from a hard day in the office. Only to meet us in some small town diner for a few hours and drive home again.

My thanks also go unreservedly to marketing pro Lindsay Branscombe from CT who provided and is still providing massive support for Don in the US, helping him get the kit and support people he needs.

So reluctantly we left Don and Dan, with Lisa's gifts of clean washing and bear spray in hand, not far from the Nevada border. Dan was due to stay supporting Don for another few days before heading back to Reno, and has now been back out again to help on his journey into the truly remote Nevada desert. Superstar!

Don, keep running....Nevada can't go on for that much longer. Soon you'll be into the beautiful Utah and Colorado.

What I've found most inspiring about this trip is that the things I thought I would find hardest (physically) were not the things that proved most challenging, such as simply running for 40 or 50 miles every day or running in midday sun. I loved the novelty of running in the heat, and breaking the day up into 3 or 4 sections of mileage seemed almost natural. Its amazing how achievable running another 10 or 15 miles becomes when you've had even just a short break and decent nutrition, and know your kit well. The most difficult things were the complex social and logistical decisions we had to make which weren't black or white but shades of grey: the sponsorship issues, the constant planning ahead. Oh and I guess the navigation..

I spent a luxurious couple of days in Sacramento but missed the mountains and struggled to come back down to earth after running, though Lisa and I did come back down 8,000 ft in a night. Another few nights in San Francisco and it was time to wake up and get on a flight home...on which the drama continued when the cabin crew announced half an hour in that the right side of the aircraft was experiencing technical problems. To which the man beside me began laughing hysterically that this wasn't going to turn out well. Luckily it did.

Back home I'm completely relaxed. If its impossible to ensure a major expedition such as TransCon goes entirely and perfectly to plan then there is little value in stressing about the minor things. All you can ever do is put your best work into something, and if it doesn't go to plan keep your patience and rational thinking intact to deal with the cards that are shown to you. I reckon there's good sense in welcoming such unique situations as we had in California, it was a thousand opportunities rolled into a very short time. Its serendipitous effect is allowing me to take pleasure in the uncomplicated back here in Scotland. Which ironically is one of the reasons I love running in the first place - for its no-frills simplicity.

I'll leave you with a few small clips of footage from Day One:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00sZN6rlBcQ

Clyde Stride (Wonderful) 40

Glasgow Partick to New Lanark, 40 miles

To much amusement this race presented a few risks, namely that I cover myself in cuts & bruises ahead of the wedding of the year in a few days time, probably not a good way to complete the bridesmaid styling. Minus a few minor fence-scaling scrapes, definitely concealable, I'm still in one piece. Plus ultra running is one fast way to get a good tan for an occasion (safely of course).

To cut to the chase I loved this race. Saturday was one of the rare days you thank unreliable British weather forecasting for being so, well, unreliable. The predicted torrential downpours didn't materialise save a few light showers at the start. The sun shone and for the most part we were shaded within beautiful woodland.

Around 140 runners assembled at the Partick start, in a WHW/Milngavie-esque tunnel. For some reason, like the monsoon, my usual pre-race nerves had taken leave. I knew I'd be running against a pretty strong field of experienced female ultra runners, but I think it made me somewhat calmer. I felt content with just doing my best, enjoying the run and seeking my own PB rather than trying for any more. And that would be easy, as bizarrely having only having raced a 33, 43 and 53 mile ultra before, a 40 was a first! We set off out along the Clyde past the SECC and a rather putrid-smelling sewage works. Running to music again was a joy with the shuffle being an improvement on the heavy i-touch. I did my best to slow it down to a controlled pace as per my race plan (scrawled the day before on the back of my work to-do list). I did a much better job of this than the Highland Fling, around 7.45's, slowing to 8 min miles approaching the first checkpoint at Cambuslang 10 miles in, and banking 1.5mins for later. Bryan Adams sang me into this one, what a superstar.

My stop strategy was, well, not to stop, so I quickly refilled and went straight through the bridge out towards a section of grassy trails. A welcome change from tarmac, though dangerous for the ankle which has been slightly misbehaving of late. This is where Race Director Lee's impressive route-marking came in helpful as I ended up running on my own for pretty much the next 6 or 7 miles, perfect. If the white arrows hadnt been marked I most definitely would've been off on a few navigational adventures, despite studying maps and race directions beforehand.

Section two was pretty uneventful: another 8 miles into second checkpoint of Strathclyde Park, where out in the open it was heating up. I forced a minute's stop to whip off my shoes and change socks (a vivid image in mind of the sparkly peep toes I must wear on Friday, I CANT lose any more nails out of the 7 left!) A lovely marshall even helped me with this unattractive task and sent me off out into hot expanse of the park clutching the contents of my drop bag, flapjack and banana.

And just around the corner 4 miles away came the navigational silliness. In a bid to make up a few minutes lost time from the last section I'd lifted the pace and neglected to keep looking at the arrows on the ground, missed one turning right and headed straight in (and round and round) a council estate before my instinct told me to retrace - not before I disturbed an elderly man in his garden to ask where the Clyde Walkway had gone. After re-tracing and around 8 mins lost I found a group of runners and knew that probably I'd lost the placing I had until then. Ah well just keep going and keep your calm. I then met a lovely ginger Australian who cheered me up and we chatted for a few mins through a pretty woodland trail. It was all ok.

The next stretch seemed to go on forever, as I'd expected checkpoint 3 to be at 28 miles but I'm convinced it didnt materialise until 30, or perhaps the Garmin was playing tricks on me again. A few miles previously I'd managed to finish all of the carb drink and the water bottles I was carrying and as if magic an Italian chap called Ricardo offered me some of his - the second time this has happened an I'd made a conscious effort to carry more this time but it was very welcome. He was perfect to run next to for a while, some friendly chat but not too much constant talk. He kept skidding everywhere - not quite sure how he was doing it but I'm still surprised he finished in an upright position!

The final checkpoint was again pretty uneventful - we refilled and I attempted to eat a Muller Rice without a spoon. Glad there are no photos of that. I couldnt stomach the Stoats so grabbed it and ran off behind the unsteady Italian. Attempted to eat the flapjack but for the first time in a race I was starting to feel quite sick so I threw it to the wildlife.

This would be the longest stretch of 12 miles (but I'm sure it was 10)with the most elevation of the entire route, around 150 metres. Not immense but tough in the final stretch, and it consisted mostly of slippery and wide wooden trail steps. I ran with the Italian and Aussie contingent and chatted about other ultras on the horizon. Then we came onto a blissful stretch of trail woodland and I took off slightly ahead, before realising I was completely on my own again. Thankfully you're never quite alone when you have some 80's geniuses on the ipod so I made use of them to take my mind off the final few miles. Before I knew it I popped out the woodland onto a pretty cobbled street winding down into the World Heritage village of New Lanark, with a welcoming but premature sight of the finish and spectators down below. The route then predictably veered away and up another hill to detour around the village and back onto the trails to make up the final mileage. The Garmin clocked 40 and 6 hours 17 as I finished. Seeing the girls in already I knew my place would be fourth.

Defending top ultra runner extraordinaire Lucy Colquhoun ran an impressive 5.18 to take first female, with Debbie Martin-Consani second in 5.56 and the third female 40 seconds ahead of me.

The men's/overall winner was Paul Raistrick, who broke 5 hrs with 4.44, Grant Jeans just behind with 4.53 (both illustrated beautifully below).

We recognised Paul - I think he once won the Mull Half Marathon amongst many other races of a variety of distances and sure I've seen him at the Seven Hills.

Finish was bliss. I found out the exception to not liking Bud is when you're handed one straight after running 40 miles, and that this goes extremely well with homemade tablet. Gregg came storming in shortly after 7 hours, a brilliant run by the man machine! The injuries held out and it seemed a really positive race atmosphere for everyone, with slick organisation and lovely marshalls.

Once again a few more pearls of ultra running wisdom have been banked from this race. Research and run the route beforehand, and know what to expect. Carry more water and carbs yet again. The scrawled race plan containing significantly more realistic targets that I've ever set for myself before definitely worked. I'm excited already about the next, the Speyside Way at the end of August - though ankle pains are warning me to stick off the running this week.

Two Down

The Highland Fling is one of 9 Ultras included in the Scottish Ultra Marathon Series (SUMS). To qualify for the Championship, athletes must compete in 4 ultras out of these 9, concluding at the end of September.

Having raced in the D33 and Highland Fling, I seem to have crawled up the Results Table on the site:
Scottish Ultra Marathon Series

I don't think I should get too excited! This is but a temporary position...many of the fast girls are yet to race two.

I'm now carefully considering my options for which two to attempt next...rest assured these will not include the West Highland Way or Devil of the Highlands, not least as they are full.

The Clyde Stride on 16th July seems a tamer option, even if its title does make it sound more of a walk in a Glasgow park than a 40-mile ultra marathon. This type of race one week before Richard's wedding will earn me many champagne credits. Although I may encounter some family disapproval if I turn up looking too race-battered.
The Clyde Stride

Then we have the Speyside Way Race at the end of August, a definite favourite - route looks beautiful, relatively flat and distance not as taxing as others, at 36 miles.
Speyside Way Race

The SUMS closing race will be the appropriately named RAW, or River Ayr Way. It might be sensible to leave this as a fallback race should anything go wrong with completion of the Clyde and Speyside.
River Ayr Way Challenge

Any comments or advice most welcome :-)

Oh today's dose of inspiration came courtesy of a lovely man I met in the Sweatshop, who is a part-time photographer and writer for Runners World. He travelled around the world with Rosie Swale-Pope, taking her picture as she ran around it:

http://www.rosiearoundtheworld.co.uk/

Five year race anyone?

The Highland Fling Ultra: Race Report

Saturday 30 April 2011
53 miles of the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Tyndrum (or 54 if you're navigationally-challenged like me), 12,300 ft ascent, 10hr 34mins

I set out at 4am from a west end hotel room for Milngavie train station, prepped as possible and bursting with adrenaline despite distinct lack of sleep. Going from a champagne breakfast and royal wedding to running a most challenging ultra marathon, it would be an interesting 24 hours.

I'd really struggled to eat any kind of a decent ultra-fuelling breakfast, and practically force-fed myself porridge and water. So with 30 minutes to wait around after registration in the cool early morning of Milngavie, I attempted to hydrate with more water and eat some fruit.

To give a bit of background about the Fling, it forms a trio of annual WHW races, along with the Devil O' the Highlands (the northern half from Tyndrum to Fort William)and the full WHW. Having expanded from a handful of runners to over 450 this year, it is the only WHW ultra which runners are strongly encouraged to run unsupported. There aren't the facilities or space along the route for many support cars, and the HF organisers run a highly efficient drop-bag system. Runners pack their own drop bags of food, water, clothing changes etc they think they'll need at four different points along the way.

I knew starting out too fast would be a downfall, so I kept a close eye on my pace and from the start tried to keep to just under 8 min miles. This is difficult when you're revved to go! I ended up running second out at the front with the leader Kate Jenkins (us women had started with the 50+ male age group, with the fastest younger male age groups starting later at 8am).

I managed to get a 20 min chat in with Kate, and was inspired to hear of her record-setting 95 mile West Highland Way race of a few years ago (which was then peaked by Lucy Colquhoun). She's completed it six times but this would be the first time she'd run just the southern half - oh the strange logic! She'd also competed the other week in the Scottish Athletics 50k championships, and when asked how she did, gave a modest reply of she was happy with her time (she won the female race, in 3.43).

It was around this time I decided I should not be going her speed! So I dropped back, looking to keep it steady at 8 min miles from now on. We kept our positions until well after the first timing chip point at Drymen, 14.6 miles, and I reckoned there was about 5 minutes between me and a small group of steady runners. Several miles out of Drymen the WHW route takes you into forestry tracks, and we'd been warned at the briefing that some forestry work was currently underway, and to be careful with directions here.

To be honest having never run the race before I did not expect to be at the head of the start group nor did I expect I would have to navigate (although I did have emergency WHW map in my waist bag). Kate had opened a larger lead by this point with no sign of her ahead and no sign of anyone behind me. I came to a forestry junction, with the straight-on option being the WHW route, but with 'no entry due to works' signs here, and 'diversion' signs pointing to the left. I assumed we had to take the diversion (maybe I missed this being mentioned in the briefing, but dont recall being told not to follow them). I had a worrying instinct it could have been wrong but kept going. A while later I came to another 'diversion' sign, this time fallen from its post on the ground, pointing in neither direction of a second cross roads. What to do?! I took the left again for good measure. After around 10 minutes I heard voices and came out at another crossroads, wherein a group of runners emerged from the trees of the other direction. It was clear this was the group from behind me, and they hadn't followed the diversion. I think I lost 10-15 minutes in the grand scheme of things - although the way the race developed its extemely unlikely I would have kept any semblance of placing!

To take my mind off my forestry faux pas I got chatting to race veteran and amazingly knowledgeable runner John Kynaston, he thought I was Jamie Aarons before he realised he didn't know me. I reassured him that I however knew him as a result of blog-stalking! I think he said it was his fifth HF, and he's also an experienced WHW racer, taking part in the big one in June. He was running with a girl called Claire, who was taking on her first ultra after taking part in the London marathon several weeks ago with a 3hr time.

We hit Conic hill together. It is obviously a lot more energy-saving to walk the steepest hills in ultras rather than run. Attempting to run them all as I'd originally planned would have resulted in fatigue further down the line so I changed tactic with this.

I ran into Balmaha at 20 miles, the first checkpoint/drop bag point, feeling quite comfortable. Stopping for just a minute, I reckoned it best to get on with it - it was starting to really heat up even at 9am.

Next came a stretch of 7 miles, to checkpoint numero deux at Rowerdennan. Although I kept forgetting I'd run a mile further than needed - fairly demoralising when you think you're approaching the next checkpoint but you have another 10 mins to go! It was from here I got the first taster of the undulation to come, even after Conic Hill. This race is truly unsettled terrain for most of the way through - after easing you in gently for the first half marathon that is. I dont recall one flat stretch of path longer than a mile.

By Rowardennan I was out of water and slightly concerned I'd need more than the small carry bottle I had around my waist for between checkpoints - the heat was calling for much more. The marshalls helped me re-fill and I had a quick bite of sandwich before heading straight on, for another 7 miles of loch-side track to Inversnaid. We wound around Loch Lomond, with the towering Ben Lomond to the right. The track was significantly rougher terrain that I expected, a challenging combo of loose stones, roots, boulders to negotiate. I had already decided months ago loose gravel and stones to be the enemy of happy feet and this confirmed it.

A wonderful support crew of friends awaited at Inversnaid - Gregg, Sally, Ally and Cat - and by this stage I couldn't wait to see them and inflict them with sweaty hugs. So the few miles before running down the hill to the Inversnaid hotel were going well, until I sidestepped a muddy puddle to save getting damp blister-prone feet, and stepped knee-deep into a bog. Running through the shock of suddenly being covered in mud, I found the next river-crossing down to the loch and jumped in it. I was soaked now but nothing to be done - better water than mud...

Invernsaid and friendly faces were all too brief. I stopped for two minutes, inhaled a banana and bottle of electrolytes and set off. The next stage - 7 miles to Bein Glas Farm - was to be the transition into my most testing race yet. Although not featuring any steep uphills, the path was not easily runnable, with constant boulder obstacles, ample opprtunity to trip and injure yourself. I fell a couple of times, and took to swearing profusely at stones. In the last few miles of that stage I stumbled badly on my left ankle, the ligament I'd torn at Christmas. I felt soft tissues quite literally straining and thought for a minute that was me out, but tested it gently with a few more steps and kept on without too much pain, which soon subsided.

I just hadn't carried enough water, and could really have done with an energy drink rather than just water and electrolytes, blood sugars were low and stomach rumbling but I couldn't bear to eat. I met Debbie Martin-Consani en route who kindly passed me lucozade - thank you.

Bein Glas was an oasis. I gave myself 5 minutes, at that point I wasn't convinced I could finish at all. A few fantastic marshalls poured a bucket of water on my head and shoved a muller rice in my hands, which I tried to eat along with a slice of bread. I could feel my feet were a mess but didn't want to look, but then decided it'd be better to sort them now rather than have to stop during the next 12 final miles to Tyndrum. Compeed-ed up, I struggled to my feet and took off on what I can only call a gentle jog - from now on 11-12 min miles were the best I could do. As I'd expected, a few miles out of Bein Glas came steaming behind me Jez Bragg, the ultra athlete and record holder for HF and WHW, now running for North Face, in second place behind the guy who'd go on to unexpectedly win, Andrew Mills, an unattached runner. A few others closely followed - these guys had started at 8am, so were 2 hours ahead and maintaining amazing stamina against the now 24 degree heat. All I wanted to do was launch myself into the nearest loch. The dry heat was reminiscent of Yosemite.

It was a little comfort that, as the Garmin inched past 43 miles, this was now the furthest I'd ever run. Not much to say on the next 10 miles, apart from I knew I was dehydrated and running erratically, slowing to take on each hill. On two ocassions I had to re-fill water from a fast running stream, by which point I really didn't care if I later got sick or not.

The encouragement from walkers and campers on the route coming into Tyndrum was amazing, as were the two pipers positioned 50 metres or so from the finish. I hadn't made my target of under 10 hours but was delighted to see the finish at all, and knew I'd significantly underestimated the terrain, and the impact of 900m of ascent on pace.

There were the friends, waiting with welcome recovery drinks - including a beer - and pretty much everything I needed. I congratulated Kate who had won the female race with a time of just over 9 hours. She told me I could take half an hour off my time for the heat - alright then if you insist!

Lessons
- Food
I stubbornly set out on this race to prove I could run an ultra without the overpriced, additive and sugar-packed energy gels and drinks, and that 'real' food would get me through. So against the grain I planned out my four drop bag sustenance carefully: vegetarian sausage sandwich, organic peanut bars, bananas, fruit smoothies, electrolytes.

I stand corrected - there is a reason ultra runners use these easily-consumable forms of fuel. One: you start losing energy at an increasing and incredible rate the further you get into an ultra race and need to replace it with food and drinks that enter your system super-quick. Two: Its really quite difficult to chew anything substantial, however good for you, and you simply can't stomach eating the volume of 'normal' carby foods your body needs to replenish what it's using.

My strategy involved eating half a sandwich at Balmaha and Rowardennan checkpoints to give me maximum energy for later in the race when I may not feel like food. I struggled to eat what I'd planned, all you want is something soft and simple.

Next time I will certainly be consuming more calories, I needed them and would have probably kept a tighter pace. Think I am around 4 pounds lighter now.

- Feet

My feet are in recovery after Saturday, with Sunday and Monday being struggles just to walk. I seriously need to find a strategy for ultras that prevents the type of damage I'm doing...so I'm now embarking upon a series of trials in white spirit soaking, vaseline and podiatrists. I will updated on this fascinating topic later!

Despite the physical need for my body to recover for a week or so, the race has left me elated, fitter and lighter for the next. I won't be choosing a multi-terrain, but I can't wait.

Race Results
http://www.zen31010.zen.co.uk/highlandflingrace/results.htm

Happy finish faces - thank you :-)